Film Review #50: The Return of Jafar

You knew these were coming.  Disney just couldn't keep their hands off their beloved classics without trying to "improve" on them.  The saddest part of this new line of films, is the best chain of them is first.  It'd be very hard for Disney to screw up the Aladdin franchise, considering two major factors:

1. Aladdin was their most successful film ever at that point (The Lion King wouldn't be released until the Summer 1994)

2. Unlike Beauty and the Beast or The Little Mermaid, the skewing line was very broad.

With that said, The Return of Jafar is by no means a great movie.  And yet, somehow, this is one of the superior of the films that darkened the legacy of Disney's name considerably.

PLOT: After escaping his imprisonment with his former ally Jafar, Iago the parrot flies back to Agrabah in hopes of regaining the power he lost.  After rescuing Aladdin and Abu from a group of bandits, Aladdin decides to take the bird back, but is hesitant to show him to either Jasmine or the Sultan.  After Aladdin fails to keep Iago a secret, the Sultan orders Aladdin to watch Iago's every movement.  Despite the Sultan not trusting him, Jasmine, Abu, and even Genie start warming up to their former enemy.

Speaking of enemies, Jafar is unleashed from his lamp by a clumsy thief named Abis-Mal.  Jafar agrees to give the thief all he wants in exchange for helping him express his wrath on Aladdin and company.  Using his intimidation over Iago to his advantage, the evil sorcerer uses the parrot to trick Aladdin into bringing the Sultan on a carpet ride.  While they're away, Jafar takes complete control of Agrabah, imprisoning Genie, Abu, and Jasmine in the dungeons.  Then, the evil vizier attacks Aladdin and kidnaps the Sultan.  Iago flees and Aladdin is framed for the "murder" of the Sultan.  With the others incapacitated, it is up to Iago to choose whether serving Jafar again was worth it.

What's Bad?: Don't expect me to keep complaining about the animation with each of these.  These were made by the second hand animation studios in Australia and Japan, and were being ordered to be made on severely tightened budgets and due dates.  I will only comment on the animation if it is either really good or REALLY BAD.  Return of Jafar is the prime example of this.  While the animation is choppy, I expect that this was never supposed to be a direct to video release.  In fact, this was supposed to be the first two episodes of "Aladdin: The Series".  I expect it was released to video because they delayed the re-release to theaters of Sleeping Beauty, which also delayed it's re-release to video until 1997.

The film's biggest problem has already been discussed in a previous article.  If you haven't read it, I'll fill you in.  Aladdin, who learned that lies tend to blow up in your face in the last movie, now feels no shame or remorse when lying to the love of his life.  And by the way, what was the point of lying to them about Iago anyway?  Anyone?  No?

But the character who takes the biggest hit is the Genie.  In this film, along with most of the series and the third film, Genie is relegated to spewing jokes and pop culture references, which is about the only useful thing about him considering his powers are now "semi-phenomenal and nearly cosmic".

What's Good?: The only two characters worth talking about in this one are Jafar and Iago.  Jafar returns to his beloved role as main antagonist and remains his awesome and menacing self.  Iago, along with Anastasia in the Cinderella franchise, is the only sidekick that has a character arc.  He does show signs of development, including his decision to stand against Jafar in the final battle (YOU ALL KNEW IT WAS COMING!) and his decision to help mend Jasmine and Aladdin's relationship.

The songs are still entertaining.  Not a single Alan Menken worthy song, but they're still okay.

Overall: As films go, this one has it's high moments and it's really low moments.  But in the end, the high moments outweigh the bad moments and the film is still enjoyable.  But the dark clouds were gathering at this point.  They were waiting for just the right moment to strike.

Report Card:

Hero:                                 B-
Heroine:                            B-
Villain:                               A
Side Characters:               B+
Songs:                                B
Musical Score:                  B
Animation:                         B-
Story:                                 C

Did it Match the Original in any sense at all?:      Not Really

Final Grade:                      B